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“My advice would be to try it out. There is always a stable that is going to give you a chance,” Marine Renaudet tells World of Showjumping about her message to anyone considering grooming as a career. “As long as you want to learn, are motivated, and love what you're doing, you can make it.”  

The 27-year-old is a living example of just that. From southwest of France, Marine took a daring step to move to Belgium when Stephex Stables offered her a job in 2018. During her seven years at the Belgian sport and trading stable, Marine has worked her way up to now being Daniel Deusser’s show groom.

Like so many others, Marine’s love for horses stems from early days spent at a local riding school. “My teachers would take me with them to the shows, they did national hunter classes, eventing and dressage – and I enjoyed the grooming side of the sport,” she tells.

However, Marine ended up studying art history and did not pursue equestrian sports as a career – until a visit to the World Cup show in Lyon in 2014 changed everything. “The atmosphere was incredible, and seeing the top-level grooms made me feel that I would want to do that as well. My mom wanted me to get a diploma, just to have something to fall back on in case things didn't work out so I changed to an agricultural program.”

After finishing her degree, Marine sent open applications to different stables. “Stephex reached back to me a few months later,” she recalls. “I was 20 when I came for a trial at Stephex. Back then, my job was supposed to be working with a French rider that was based here, doing two-stars and national shows. However, he left shortly after I arrived, as did the home groom from Daniel – so I swapped from one team to another.”

“When I arrived, Sean Lynch was Daniel’s show groom,” Marine continues. “I was a home groom when I started, but as the show schedule was busy and quite packed, I eventually went to the shows as well when needed. The first time I went to the show with Daniel was in 2020, and I would sometimes go to the trainings with him when Sean was already gone for a show and we had to bring the younger horses out.”

Marine’s first international outing as Daniel’s show groom was at the iconic Gothenburg Horse Show in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. “Sean actually drove me there, showed me around the venue, explained everything, and then flew back home because he was flying to Doha the week after,” Marine recalls. “The year after, I went to Florida. I started to do a few shows a year, or go help Sean at some shows when there were five or six horses, so we were two people. I basically learned the job by watching Sean and seeing what he was doing and how he took care of the horses.”

When Sean left Stephex Stables at the end of 2023, Marine did not feel ready to take on the full responsibility of being the sole show groom for Daniel. “We spoke about the situation and I said I would like for us to have two show grooms if possible, because the show schedule was quite packed and I didn't feel like I was experienced enough to manage it on my own,” Marine tells.

For one-and-a-half years, Marine shared the show groom duties with another co-worker until August this year when she took over alone. “We now have a home groom and a flat rider, and I'm going to all the shows,” she tells about her current situation. “I'm lucky enough to work in a big stable, where we get help with the driving. The team at Stephex wants to create the best conditions possible for us so we can do our job.”

During her years at Stephex, Kiana van het Herdershof (Toulon x Lys de Darmen, bred by Etienne Gansbeke) has come to be Marine’s favourite from the many superstar horses she has had in her care. “Kiana is now 15, and I've groomed her from the beginning,” Marine explains. “However, it's hard to pick a favourite because it's not that I dislike any of the horses. Gangster is another horse I’ve spent a lot of time with. He is kind of a one-person horse and has so much personality. I like when the horses have a lot of character, when they are expressive. We always joked with Sean that Killer Queen was Sean's horse, and that Kiana was mine. It was a bit the same with Tobago; it took a while for me to get to know him.”

“It's definitely a lot to think about,” Marine says about dealing with the workload of being the sole show groom. “I write down everything. I'm quite anxious, so I always try to anticipate as much as I can – and I am not afraid of asking for help. If I have any doubts about something, I will text another groom or contact the show I am going to directly. Recording the temperatures and making sure all the papers are in order has become a routine now. It's less difficult now than at the beginning when everything was new to me.”

While Marine has made grooming her career, she sees it more of a lifestyle than a job. “It's like a big family; you see the same people every week and you create close friendships,” she tells about the showjumping community. “I'm lucky to be surrounded by so many great grooms that I can learn from. If I have a problem, I try to always ask around and discuss it with the others. I don't have all the experience in the world, so I want to make sure that my plan is the best I can do for my horses. I believe it’s important to keep an open mind and think outside the box.”

“I think it's really nice to see how happy people are for each other. I really enjoy the community, but what I love the most about my job are the horses,” Marine says. “We get to travel to amazing places with them, and I'm constantly amazed by how well they deal with all of it.”

“I think I've already been quite spoiled with all the shows that I have gotten to do,” Marine concludes. “I have been lucky to go to some of the best shows in the world. It's difficult to know how the horses are going to progress, but I’m sure everyone would like to go to the Olympics one day.”

7.1.2026 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.